Federal Budget 101

Why Should you Care About the Federal Budget

The $3.9 trillion the government is planning to spend in fiscal year 2015 is your tax dollars.
A budget is as much about spending as it is about raising revenue, and individuals like you
fund the federal government through income taxes and payroll taxes. That means we're all
stakeholders in how that money is spent. No matter what your priorities – the federal budget affects you.

There is a flow-through of money from the federal government to the states, into counties and right into
your own town. Federal funding comes into our communities in many ways, much of it in the form of
cash assistance and usually funneled through state and local agencies. Each year the federal government
provides hundreds of billions of dollars to states through grants and assistance programs. Programs like
the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provide assistance to
families, while others like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program allow communities to
fund important public and private infrastructure. Many of these programs are crucial for states and their
citizens, particularly now, as the current economic climate forces states to make tough budget choices.

Federal dollars also land in our communities by supporting government services like building roads and bridges,
and through the enforcement of safety regulations for things like food quality, drinking water, and clean air.

As stakeholders, it is our right and our obligation to see that our tax dollars are spent in ways that
reflect our priorities. To do that we need to know where that money is going, and how budget decisions are
made. Federal Budget 101 gives you that crucial information.

Throughout Federal Budget 101, you’ll see that some words are in bold text. Those are words you can find in
the Federal Budget Glossary.